Thanks, Frank! Hope ol’ Mr. Kringle left you a few treats as well– ’cause you certainly deserve ’em! I’ll be thinking of you when I hear merry bells ringing in the New Year– wishing you a great one, sir!! : )

That is a very wise fish and he better warn his friends too – this guy has got plans for them!!!!
Best Christmas card I’ve ‘received’!!! Thank you, Mark!
One tradition we have here in Greece is waking up on Christmas eve [and New Year’s eve] by little children singing carols [and getting a tip for it!]. What we enjoy immensely with my husband is listening to the trip of their voices as they climb up [we’re on 3rd floor and each floor has 2 apartments – so by the time they reach us, we have recorded their [usually out of tune] voices 4 times! That’s when we let our friendly 4-legged companion to greet them with wagging tail and a coin [or paper note – depending on their tuning] on her nose! Next year it will be more fun because we are moving in to a new apartment [in 2-3 weeks – already packing] on the 5th floor [3# on each, which means a min of 12 times each!!!]
Happy Christmas and Boxing day [if you have one] or simply, second day of Christmas and most beautiful holidays! 🙂
Bah bah!!!! 🙂

Alas! It’s not good to be a fish, when the only thing on the menu is seafood… : P

What a lovely Christmas and New Year’s tradition! I can almost hear those wonderful, off-key voices getting closer and closer. Then they’re right outside the door. Suddenly, there’s a gasp, and a child’s voice rings out: “Look!! Here comes a dog with money taped to its nose– hurrah!!”

Well, it all sounds pretty exciting to me… : )

Good luck with the new apartment!! Now that really sounds exciting! Hope it’s big, with lots of room for canvases and recording equipment!! : )

Thank you for that very kind Christmas wish, my dear Marina, and for sharing that lovely tradition. Hope you had a joyful Christmas, and I wish you much happiness and success in 2014!! Bah, bah, from your favorite black sheep!! : )

Ha!! Yes, my dear Inge, I have some leftover turkey for you! Tell you what: I’ll send you a picture of the sliced turkey, complete with gravy and sausage stuffing, and you send me back a picture of the empty plate!! : )

Hope you had a lovely Christmas, Inge– I wish you much happiness and laughter in 2014!! : )